The face of Indian women basketball looked off colour early on. However, some smart play by S Kokila (13) and Smruthi R (13) took the pressure of Geethu and the Super Girls were up 20-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Geethu Anna Jose wasn’t even close to her best but she still scored 35 points as the Super Girls coasted to a 80-58 victory over Wonder Girls in the final of inaugural Lakadawala Developers Mastan Basketball Professional League at the Mastan YMCA courts in Nagpada on Saturday. And as luck would have it, the sponsors, in a superb act of magnanimity, decided to double the prize money for the tournament. The winners took home Rs1 lakh while the runners-up gained a purse of Rs75,000.
Geethu’s tally would have well over 50 had it not been for the grit and determination displayed by Wonder Girls centre Harjit Kaur. Punjab lass Harjit, who plays for Delhi, defended Geethu exceptionally well, accounted for a quarter of the game’s rebounds and even scored seven points. However, nothing could stop Geethu.
The face of Indian women basketball looked off colour early on. However, some smart play by S Kokila (13) and Smruthi R (13) took the pressure of Geethu and the Super Girls were up 20-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Wonder Girls showed a lot more steel in the next period, and at half time, the scoreboard read 32-28, still in favour of the Super Girls. The third quarter was a rather dull affair and Harjit suddenly developed butter fingers. This resulted in quite a few miss-passes as well as poor interception and off-the-mark shooting.
The final period of play was a ‘Super’ show. Coach Sat Prakash Yadav ordered his wards to apply full-court pressure and the Super Girls did just that. The result: they scored 31 points as against 16 by the Wonder Girls. The Super Girls may have taken a commanding lead only in the fourth quarter but the result was a foregone conclusion.
Results: Women’s final: Super Girls 80 (Geethu Anna Jose 35, S Kokila 13, Smruthi 13) bt Wonder Girls 58 (P Anitha 22)
Men’s final: Prince 78 (Jayaram Jha 29, Gagandeep Singh 17) bt Soldiers 70 (Jagadeep Singh 41)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}